Clark takes step, but Izzo looking for more

MSU's Marvin Clarklays the ball in despite the defensive pressure of Everson Davis of Binghamton in the first half Saturday in East Lansing.(Photo: Kevin W. Fowler/For the Lansing State Journal)Buy Photo

The sophomore forward is trying to make the most of Michigan State's upcoming stretch of games as he tries to earn a spot in coach Tom Izzo's rotation after missing the start of the season with a stress reaction in his left foot.

Clark said he felt good while playing a season-high 17 minutes in the No. 3-ranked Spartans' 76-33 victory over Binghamton on Saturday.

"Coach told me this week that these next couple of games are going to be big for me to get back in the feel of things and get my minutes back going and get me going," said Clark, who had a season-high nine points and six rebounds against the Bearcats. "It felt pretty good to see the ball go in the hoop a couple of times."

Izzo wanted to see more defensively and on the glass out of the 6-foot-6 Clark on Saturday. He believes Clark is one of the players that needs to get better for the unbeaten Spartans (9-0).

"(Eron Harris) and Marvin Clark are the two guys that I think have to step up a couple of levels if we are going to go from good to great," Izzo said.

Izzo said he was excited about the progress defensively that he saw from Harris, who is still figuring things out on offense for the Spartans.

Clark, who had surgery in September for a broken bone in his left foot, is working his way back into form, hoping to give MSU a lift.

"I've just got to keep rebounding and playing hard and defending and the offense will come," Clark said. "As long as I focus on rebounding and defending, everything else will take care of itself. For me, I've just got to stay at it. If things don't happen my way offensively, I've still got to stay at it. At the end of the day I still want to be able to impact the game without just scoring the ball."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.